Again the Holy Qur’an says in respect of the same Prophet

We made the winds subservient to him. They moved softly at his command in whichever direction he intended. We made the devils obey him. They included builders, divers and others bound in chains. (We said): This is Our gift. (Therefore you may bestow or withhold it without reckoning”. (Sad, 38: 36â€”39).

The verses describing the miracles of Prophet Isa also support this stand, but we avoid to quote them for lack of space.

What we intend to emphasize is that nobody who believes in the Holy Qur’an, can deny the Walayat of Control. But if somebody wants to judge this issue purely on scientific or philosophical standard, it would be off the point. At present we want to look at the issue from the Qur’anic angle only.

In the end we would like to further stress upon a point to which we referred in the beginning. All the stages of mastership mentioned above are the outcome of proximity to Allah, which is a factual reality and not a figurative or allegorical expression. A well known hadith, Hadith al-Qudsi (a saying of the Prophet reproducing what Allah said) which is reported both by the Shi’ah and the Sunni sources, has expressed this fact beautifully. Imam al-Sadiq reports that the Holy Prophet said: “Allah says The best means of seeking proximity to Me is the performance of what I have enjoined on My slaves. If somebody performs the super-numeraries also, I love him. When I love a person I become his eyes with which he sees, his ears with which he hears, his tongue with which he speaks and his hands with which he holds. If he calls Me, I respond to him. If he asks Me for a thing I give it to him”

This hadith clearly shows that devotion brings man close to Allah. As he gets closer to Him, he is loved and favoured by Him. Then he begins to see, hear and speak with Divine power. His prayer is responded to and his wishes are granted.

The fact is that the distinctive feature of Shi’aism is its special outlook on man. It believes, as we have stated earlier, that man has marvellous capabilities and that the world has never been without a perfect man whose capabilities are fully developed. It also believes that man can secure his rightful position only by treading in the path of submission and subservience to Allah under the leadership of a perfect man, a Waly and leader appointed by Him. That is why the leaders (awliya) of Shi’aism say:

The tenets which constitute the basis of Islam are five Salat (prayer), Saum (fast), Zakat (religious tax), Hajj (pilgrimage), and Walayat and Islam has laid the greatest stress on Walayat. 4